New German list of symbols conflates anti-genocide advocacy with antisemitism

“New German list of symbols conflates anti-genocide advocacy with antisemitism Submitted by Pauline Ertel on Fri, 05/22/2026 - 15:48 Document comes days after government published dossier of 'secular Palestinian extremist' symbols, such as the watermelon and the Handala cartoon Antisemitism illustrated as a 'cross-cultural phenomenon' between mainstream culture, right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism, Islamist extremism and 'foreign-related extremism" (BfV/AI generated) Off The German government last week published a new brochure on what it believes to be antisemitic codes and symbols. Published by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the pamplet, titled "Hidden Messages-Anti-Semitic Codes and Ciphers", says it "aims to raise awareness of subtle forms of anti-Semitism". Over 80 pages, the brochure catalogues a list of concepts, terms and images ranging from Nazi-era propaganda to contemporary symbols against Israel's genocide of Palestinian in Gaza. It conflates these diverse symboles by claiming they all carry an antisemitic meaning. Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International , have condemned the German government's crackdown on peaceful pro-Palestinian activism. Germany is one of the key supporters of Israel's genocide, despite its own history of committing genocide against Jews, Slavs and Roma during the Second World War, and in Namibia in the early 20th century. The document comes days after the BfV released a dossier titled "Secular pro- Palestinian extremism", in which the watermelon symbol and Handala , a cartoon of a 10-year-old Palestinian refugee, are listed as "identifying marks" of secular "pro-Palestinian extremism" in Germany. In the brochure, the BfV used the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, claiming it to be a "widely accepted definition". "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews. It is directed in word or deed against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as against Jewish community institutions or religious institutions", the brochure reads. The brochure adds that "the State of Israel, understood as a Jewish collective, may also be the target of such attacks". Intended audiences for the brochure include teachers, "who can use the booklet as supplementary material in the classroom", and other educational staff, who can use it as a "guideline to help recognise any anti-Semitic remarks in the working environment". The brochure is also addressed to "interested members of the public who follow political and social developments in Germany and wish to make sense of their observations". 'Cross-cultural phenomenon' In Chapter 1, antisemitism is exposed as "one of the most powerful and enduring cross-cultural phenomena" (originally Bruckenphenomen or "bridging phenomenon") which enables "ad hoc alliances between groups that otherwise have little in common or even regard each other as adversaries". The trends that are perceived to be allied by antisemitism are identified as "the social mainstream, right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism, Islamist extremism and 'foreign-related extremism'". The meaning of the last group mentioned is not explained. "Various anti-democratic actors can rally behind the shared enemy stereotype of 'the Jews' or 'Israel', regardless of their other ideological views," the brochure reads. 'Shut up and fall in line': Israel, Palestine and the dawn of a new censorship in western art Read More » "In reality, such links or even collaboration are rare," the brochure continues, "but the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on 7 October 2023 in particular, highlighted the impact that shared perceptions of the enemy can have: sections of the left-wing to far-left scene expressed solidarity with a supposed 'Palestinian liberation struggle' during protests." "In doing so, they helped to make Hamas’s terrorism socially acceptable," the pamphlet says. To illustrate these relationships, there is an AI-generated image, which features different groups united by bridges, with a larger 'road' connecting antisemitism and the " Mitte der Gesellschaft ", which roughly means "mainstream". Statistics about the nature of antisemitic attacks in Germany and the connection of such attacks to the identified groups are absent. Antisemitism illustrated as a "cross-cultural phenomenon" between the social mainstream, right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism, Islamist extremism and "foreign-related extremism" (BfV/AI-generated) The power of antisemitism, the BfV claims, stems from its "strong emotional charge and its deep-rooted presence in the collective memory, which often renders it immune to facts and rational counter-arguments". Antisemitism, it is further argued, is brought to the fore during "periods of social uncertainty - such as those caused by pandemics, crises or international conflicts." The idea that anti-Israel, and not antisemitic, ideas might be on the rise because Israel's mass killing of Palestinians, including women and children, is not acknowledged by the pamphlet's authors. Nazi narratives and anti-genocide advocacy Included in the brochure's list of stereotypes are antisemitic symbols such as the octopus; a propaganda symbol dating back to the Nazi era, which expresses the idea that Jews have a diverse and far-reaching involvement in various aspects of society. There are also caricatures depicting Jewish people as money- and power-hungry, as well as common antisemitic tropes, such as the blood libel one, or false accusations of Jews murdering Christians in order to use their blood in their religious rituals. Further antisemitic terms listed in the brochure pertain to imagery of "rats", "monkeys" and "parasites" as well as "Wall Street" or "The East Coast", described as "a geographical reference to New York, the financial hub allegedly controlled by Jews". Mixed in with these antisemitic symbols are examples of pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel. Examples used by the BfV were taken from social media channels such as X, Facebook and Telegram, as well as the unregulated and anonymous imageboard 4chan. In the final chapter, the brochure shows an image of a bloody classroom with the title "Israel kills an entire classroom every day - 28 kids". 'Sections of the left-wing to far-left scene expressed solidarity with a supposed "Palestinian liberation struggle" during protests. In doing so, they helped to make Hamas' terrorism socially acceptable' - Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Circulated online to raise awareness about Israel’s genocide in Gaza , the image illustrates the significant death toll amongst children. Data by Save the Children from September 2025 revealed that at least one Palestinian child has been killed every hour on average by Israeli forces in Gaza, with the number of children killed having surpassed 20,000. While the BfV inserted a disclaimer under the image indicating that "there is significantly more room for interpretation as to whether, or to what extent, anti-Semitic content is present", the BfV argues that the image reverses perpetrator and victim. It adds that the image "portrays Israel as the sole aggressor, whilst the terrorist attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and the complex background to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict are not mentioned at any point". It further states that "the colour red and the inscription '28 CHILDREN' may revive the motif of the 'Jewish child murderer' (see Chapter 2.3) by framing the deaths as a ritual act and an act of murderous intent rather than as unintended victims of war". Another image featured in the brochure depicts an Israeli soldier unplugging the power of an incubator carrying a Palestinian infant, as the soldier asks: "Do you condemn Hamas?" The image refers to a 9 November 2023 attack , when Israeli airstrikes hit al-Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, cutting off the neonatal intensive care unit's oxygen supply and forcing staff to evacuate, leaving babies that could not be transported alone in intensive care, according to Doctors Without Borders. On 28 November, during a ceasefire, doctors were able to return and found four babies dead . "The cartoon", it is argued in the brochure, "offers a simplistic answer to a complex political question, because it reduces the Middle East conflict to a binary framework of 'good' (the innocent newborn baby/'the Palestinians') versus 'evil' (the violent State of Israel)". The image is considered to be antisemitic, BfV claims, since it "suggests that 'the Jews' stand outside the bounds of all human morality due to a ruthless lust for power". "Anyone who abuses a child as a pawn in their own interests reveals themselves to be the 'absolute evil' against which all resistance becomes a duty," it adds. No mention is made of the actual events that inspired the cartoon. Germany News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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